Bill Shielding Gunmakers Ok'd

Nra-backed Measure Now Goes To Bush

October 21, 2005|By Sheryl Gay Stolberg The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The Republican-controlled Congress delivered a long-sought victory to the gun industry on Thursday when the House, with considerable Democratic support, voted to shield firearms manufacturers and dealers from liability lawsuits. The bill now goes to President Bush, who has promised to sign it.

The gun liability bill has for years been the No. 1 legislative priority of the National Rifle Association, which has lobbied legislators intensely for it. Its final passage, by a vote of 283-144, reflects the changing politics of gun control, which many Democrats began shying away from after Al Gore, who promoted it, was defeated in the presidential election of 2000.

"It's a historic piece of legislation," said Wayne LaPierre, the association's executive vice president, who said the bill was the most significant victory for the gun lobby since Congress rewrote the federal gun control law in 1986. "As of Oct. 20, the Second Amendment is probably in the best shape in this country that it's been in decades."

The bill, which is identical to one approved in July by the Senate, is aimed at ending a spate of lawsuits by individuals and municipalities seeking to hold gun manufacturers and dealers liable for crimes committed with their weapons.

While it bars such suits, the measure contains an exception allowing certain cases involving defective weapons or criminal behavior by a gunmaker or dealer, such as knowingly selling a weapon to someone who has failed a criminal background check.

Bush said in a statement that he looks forward to signing the bill, which he said would "further our efforts to stem frivolous lawsuits, which cause a logjam in America's courts, harm America's small businesses, and benefit a handful of lawyers at the expense of victims and consumers."

Backers of the measure say it is necessary to keep the American arms industry in business, while opponents say the law deprives gun violence victims of a legitimate right to sue.

Dispirited gun safety advocates said they now expect attempts to dismiss nearly a dozen lawsuits around the country, and vowed to challenge the constitutionality of the bill in court.

"It's always been a tough fight, let's face that," said Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., who was elected in 1996 after her husband was killed and her son injured by a gunman on the Long Island Rail Road. She added, "This is personal for me."

While opponents of the measure said the bill singles out the gun industry for special protection, LaPierre said the protection was necessary because, unlike auto manufacturers or pharmaceutical companies, American firearms makers "don't have deep pockets."

But opponents called the bill shameful -- "bought and paid for by the NRA," in the words of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., whose constituents include victims of the 2002 sniper shootings that terrorized Washington and its suburbs, called the measure "a cruel hoax" on gun violence victims.

ROLL CALL

Yes -- Y

No -- N

Not voting -- X

How South Florida legislators voted on a bill to protect the firearms industry from crime-victim lawsuits, which passed 283-144. A yes vote is a vote to pass the bill.